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Doctors say this year's flu victims aren't the norm

Published: Wednesday, January 15, 2014 at 02:30 PM.

Local health officials say the moderate level of flu this season is affecting young and middle-aged adults the most.

Health professionals say this year’s flu, H1N1, affects adults primarily in their 30s and 40s. It is the same strand that killed hundreds of thousands of people worldwide in 2009, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The CDC cites a study that estimates 80 percent of 2009 H1N1 deaths were in people younger than 65.

“The flu is something we experience every year,” said Mary Beverly, public health services manager with the Santa Rosa County Health Department. “The strain of flu will determine who it hits. Typically, we see that H3N2 strand, which affects the elderly and very young. H1N1 affects middle-aged people, especially those who are immuno-compromised, and pregnant women fall under that.”

Beverly described the flu symptoms as shortness of breath, fever, a persistent cough, body aches, nausea, vomiting and diarrhea. She said this year’s flu vaccine covers the 2009 H1N1 strand.

On Jan. 5, 47-year-old paramedic Rodney Gajewski of Gulf Breeze died from what his family says was H1N1. His wife Kelly Gajewski still is being treated at University of Alabama Birmingham Medical Center for the virus and complications it has caused.

Kendra Fendt of Pace was a 32-year-old expectant mother when she began showing signs of the flu. After checking into a hospital two months ago, she died of H1N1 on Jan. 9.

“When you think of the flu, when you think of pneumonia, you think of it as a serious illness but not life-threatening,” said David Johnson, a friend of Fendt’s family. “As healthy as Kendra was, given the fact that she had been wanting a child for so long and that baby was taken to save the mother’s life, it’s just so sad.

“This is one of those situations where it really makes you realize how delicate life is,” Johnson said. “We all need to appreciate our loved ones every day, every moment.”

Local health officials say the moderate level of flu this season is affecting young and middle-aged adults the most.

Health professionals say this year’s flu, H1N1, affects adults primarily in their 30s and 40s. It is the same strand that killed hundreds of thousands of people worldwide in 2009, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The CDC cites a study that estimates 80 percent of 2009 H1N1 deaths were in people younger than 65.

“The flu is something we experience every year,” said Mary Beverly, public health services manager with the Santa Rosa County Health Department. “The strain of flu will determine who it hits. Typically, we see that H3N2 strand, which affects the elderly and very young. H1N1 affects middle-aged people, especially those who are immuno-compromised, and pregnant women fall under that.”

Beverly described the flu symptoms as shortness of breath, fever, a persistent cough, body aches, nausea, vomiting and diarrhea. She said this year’s flu vaccine covers the 2009 H1N1 strand.

On Jan. 5, 47-year-old paramedic Rodney Gajewski of Gulf Breeze died from what his family says was H1N1. His wife Kelly Gajewski still is being treated at University of Alabama Birmingham Medical Center for the virus and complications it has caused.

Kendra Fendt of Pace was a 32-year-old expectant mother when she began showing signs of the flu. After checking into a hospital two months ago, she died of H1N1 on Jan. 9.

“When you think of the flu, when you think of pneumonia, you think of it as a serious illness but not life-threatening,” said David Johnson, a friend of Fendt’s family. “As healthy as Kendra was, given the fact that she had been wanting a child for so long and that baby was taken to save the mother’s life, it’s just so sad.

“This is one of those situations where it really makes you realize how delicate life is,” Johnson said. “We all need to appreciate our loved ones every day, every moment.”